Monday, April 02, 2007

Juggling those eggs, when life tosses in one too many.

Most of you know that I've had a few busy weeks lately and Domestik Goddess tagged me with a meme focusing on how one achieves balance in life. Now this meme did as all memes do and floated around the blogosphere, Lillie Ammann started it (so blame her!), and now it's landed at my doorstep.

Square the root of messy household and divide that by the sum of children running through the household and then multiply that by what you want to accomplish and then subtract what you actually accomplish and then factor in the "husbandly rights" quotient and then fractionalize resting time... and you'll end up with harmonious balance.

Honestly, there is a basic formula for balance in life and I call this the "sum of me".

Identify who you are and how you spread yourself.

Here's my "me formula": I am first myself. I am then a mother. I am then a wife. I am then a daughter. I am then an employee. I am then everything else.

You must identify the priorities of where you stand and your relation to life. As busy as life gets, never lose yourself in the chaos of the moment. If the "me" isn't centered, then everything else is out of balance.

What is your biggest challenge in balancing your life?

It's easy enough to figure out where your priorities are once you think about it. But... ah, the execution... that's where so many of us fail. I don't know about you, but I'm a list maker. I make lists of to-do items. I make lists of chores. In my mind I'll create a task list of what I need to accomplish, and in what order it should be accomplished. Making lists is easy.... actually running the errands, cleaning the house, cooking dinner, having quality time and squeezing in a little me time is much harder to actually accomplish.

There are many challenges when you try to balance out life... These are my big three:

Time is a big culprit, it never seems as if we have enough of it.

Third parties are another one... how many times have we had a last minute potty stop that ended up lasting 15 to 20 minutes? How often have you had to wait on someone to get you information or call you back or not be there when you need them?

Unforeseen complications are just about the worst, because even when you've got a plan - it takes only one unforeseen complication to throw everything off kilter.

What advice can you share to help all of us balance our own lives?

Make your plan as if you have all the time in the world. Make your contingency plan as if you only can accomplish one thing. Expect to fall somewhere in the middle and when the chaotic monkey is climbing up your back - take a deep breath, reach back, carefully grasp its scrawny little neck and then beat the ever loving piss out of it as you bang it against the kitchen counter.

And if your day is just a little too crazy - stop all your plans. Go rent a movie or buy a book, grab a bottle of wine... go home, climb into some jammies and relax on the couch, because sometimes you just need a little "me" time to get back to being centered.